


Relic Hunter

by ForeverDelighted



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Archaeology, F/M, Relic Hunter Reylo AU, Reylo - Freeform, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-17
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-14 03:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5727241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForeverDelighted/pseuds/ForeverDelighted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Budding student of archaeology Rey is an expert on Jedi lore. Her skills draw the attention of infamous treasure hunters who want to use her knowledge to discover the lost Sanctum of the Exalted, which is legended to contain a treasure hoard of ancient, sinister relics of the ancient Sith religion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Rose and A Mask

**Author's Note:**

> Ever seen Relic Hunter with the amazing Sydney Fox? Kinda the feel I'm going for with this. Disclaimer - as a student of Archaeology myself I have to say this, and in case any fellow Archaeology Reylo fans read this - Archaeology in real life is, unfortunately, nothing like Indianan Jones or Tomb Raider. I'm heavily romanticizing the subject here XD Archaeology is fun in real life though! Don't get me wrong! But um... you don't get chased by giant boulders, fall into spike filled pits, or have to dodge poison tipped arrows XD xx (I'm both glad, and disappointed about this lol) xx

It started with a rose. An elegant, thornless red rose placed in a little, black case, ruby lines intricately trimming the edges. It came with no card or letter; nothing to determine who the mysterious sender was. When Rey had came into the office that morning, she found it patiently waiting for her at her small desk at the end of the long room.

She traced stem of the flower with her slender fingers, her mouth parting open as she stared at it in wonder. Carefully, she coiled her fingers around it, plucking it from its protective case and bringing it instinctively up to her nose. It smelled sweet and fresh. Rey smiled, a light stain of red appearing on her cheeks.

She gently caressed the roses silky petals, the question forming on her lips. Who sent it? A secret admirer? The thought caused a shiver of excitement to blossom in her chest.

Curiously, her eyes scanned the office, taking in the sight of her fellow archaeologists and historians. Most hadn’t arrived yet. The ones who had were only just arriving, dragging themselves over to their work station, steaming coffees in hand, sand in their eyes, and yawning tiredly.

She frowned slightly, realising she had been the first to come into the office. She was a morning bird, always rising with the sun, and always first to arrive at the office. _Too eager to work,_ Finn had always scolded her. Whoever left it here had to have done it after she had left the office last night.

 _But I was the last one to leave the office last night - as always,_  Rey mused, thinking back on her late night of researching for her dissertation.

With a sigh she flopped down into her chair, spinning on it slightly.

 _Why leave a rose if you aren’t going to tell me who you are?_ Rey thought irritably, twirling the rose in her hand.

What good was that? How could she respond if she didn’t know who apparently held feelings for her? Then again, perhaps it was better they didn’t reveal themselves. She held no romantic feelings for anyone, so whoever it was she’d have to reject. If it was someone in the office then that would lead to an awkward tension in the workplace, and that was something, understandably, she'd rather avoid. Besides, she liked the alluring air of mystery it created with not knowing who sent it.

Still, she was curious. And flattered. Very flattered. It wasn’t everyday a girl received such a beautiful gift. She wanted to at least thank whoever it was. The rose had certainly put a smile on her face, and that was something she didn’t do often enough with how hectic life was at the moment.

Her days were filled with nothing but fretting over her essays, reports, deadline and exams which were quickly creeping up on her all at once. Then there was work, which came with more stress than she needed. She was an assistant - and student - of Mr. Skywalker, a famed archaeologist. She carried out research for him, booked his transports and lodgings when he had to go off abroad to work on an excavation or lectures, took phone calls for him, among other tasks. It was a full time job in its own right, and very demanding of her time and patience. For all its faults, it paid well and gave Rey the financial means to stay in Aldeeren while studying, along with plenty of experience. But the stressful nature of the job had her more often than not questioning whether or not it was all worth it.

 _No pain no gain,_ Rey thought grimly as she switched on her computer screens. She twirled the rose in her hand once more, before placing it delicately into a glass on her desk. She smiled at it, caressing it softly. _Well, thank you to whoever sent it. It certainly cheered me up._

As she waited for the screens to load she pulled out some files and paperwork from her drawers. All of them contained information on her project for her dissertation; The Jedi Order.

It was an ancient, dead religion, shrouded in mythology and lore. Most people didn't even know of it, and those who did seldom knew anything other than the whispers of the occult like power some individuals within the order claimed to have. It was fascinating stories, and Rey could understand peoples awe at them, but there was so much more to The Jedi than the fantastical powers they claimed to have. Through her research she aimed to finally cut through the fog obscuring who these people really were, get to the heart of their beliefs and culture, understand the process of its change through time, and how it eventually fell.

The office door creaked, and Rey turned, seeing Finn walk through the door.

"Good morning, Finn," Rey smiled, giggling as he yawned.

The man looked exhausted, his feet dragging as he trudged over to her. He could barely keep his eyes open, and Rey could tell he just wanted to curl up into a ball with a blanket and go to sleep.

"It's the morning. What's good about mornings?" Finn asked, placing hot chocolate down on her desk.

“Thank you,” Rey said with a smile, taking a sip from the warm cup. “Perfectly brewed as always.” Rey began typing away on her keyboard, pulling up Luke's schedule for the day. "How much sleep did you get last night? You look knackered."

“I was up all night studying for my exam in the afternoon,” Finn said with a yawn, taking a sip from his coffee. "I also have a report due tomorrow. This semester was going smooth, then all of a sudden everything's due at the one time. I swear the lectures do it on purpose."

"Tell me about it," Rey mumbled.

Her list of assignments hanging on the wall fluttered tauntingly as a breeze rushed through the office. Rey swore it sounded like the assignment list was snickering at her.

"I have two essays due in next week on the same day, one for the Historic Landscapes of Aldeeren module, and another for Religious Studies."

"Ouch," Finn winced, sipping his drink. "Well I'll let you get back to work. Eh - Rey... isn't that Luke's passport. I thought he was going to Dagobah today?"

Rey's eye's slowly drifted to her mentors passport, sitting innocently on top of a pile of books on her desk. It gleamed, winking under the ceilings lights. She slowed her breathing, taking in deep, long breaths through her nose.

No... this wasn't happening.

"What time is it?" Rey asked lightly, knots forming in her stomach.

"Umm... half seven," Finn said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "What time does his flight leave?"

Rey let out a harsh laugh, hardly believing it. Oh all the things for him to forget, he had to forget that.

"A hour."

"Oh," Finn drawled, wincing. "Shouldn't you-"

Rey leapt from her seat, knocking it backwards. She snatched the passport, grabbed her back and bolted.

"I’ll be back in a few hours if anybody needs me!" Rey shouted over her shoulder, slamming open the door and nearly colliding with a student about to come in.

Finn held his cup of coffee up in the air, toasting her

"Good luck, Rey You're gonna need it."

Perhaps he should have bought her coffee today, rather than hot chocolate.

* * *

He was bored, and it was warm, _way_ too warm.

Finn huffed in agitation, taking a gulp of his soda. He grimaced, it was too warm too. He let out a miserable sigh, looking down at all his study notes. At the end of his desk sat a mountain of paperwork that needed to be proof read and filed away too.

_Study or work? Study or work? Study or..._

He glanced up, noticing Poe had fallen asleep at his desk. The man was sitting up straight, head hung back and eyes closed, every so often he mumbled something about pilots, flying and his cat BB-8.

Now how was that fair? He got to sleep well Finn was stuck between a rock and a hard place, an exam looming, and endless loads of work to do? If Poe had nothing better to do he could be throwing Finn a life line and offering to take some of the work off him!

Finn looked at his work, then to his notes.

 _Oh forget it,_ he thought miserably, turning his attention back to his friend and workmate. A smirk slipped on to his face, an idea forming. _Entrainment, hello._

He took a few of the rubber bands in his desk tidy and began aiming for Poe and firing. As he entertained himself with his target practice, aiming for Poe’s open mouth, he failed to notice the office door creak open, a women in her late years slipping in.

She was dressed smartly, trousers, shirt, blazer, all of which were white. Her hair had faded to a dull grey with age, wrinkles and crinkles adoring her graceful features. She held an air of command, striding into the room with purpose. She paused when her hazel orbs landed on the sight of the slumbering man being used as a target by his fellow officer. She narrowed her eyes, putting her hands firmly on her hips.

“Excuse me, Gentlemen!”

Finn’s eyes widened in surprise, accidentally releasing one last rubber band. It flew through the air, landing right into Poe’s open mouth. Poe choked on it, eyes flying open as he began spluttering and coughing. In his panic he fell from his chair, crashing to the ground and bringing most of his desk’s contents down with him.

“What the hell was that?” Poe shouted, spitting out the rubber band.

“I am so sorry! I didn’t think I’d actually hit!” Finn said, jumping from his seat in alarm. “I am so sorry, Poe!”

Poe glared daggers.

Someone cleared their throat, both men turning to see the less than impressed women before them.

“Is Aldermen University History department staff always this unprofessional?” She snapped, scowling.

“No, of course not!” Finn laughed nervously. “I was just… just… sorry Ma’m.”

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Poe asked, taking his seat again. He kicked his legs up onto the table, leaning back. He gave the women a flirty grin, batting his eye lashes at her.

“Leia Organna, head of the Alderaan Law Enforcement.”

Poe’s legs slowly slide from the desk and he sat up straight. He and Finn shared a panicked look, both letting out a nervous laugh. Of course they would be found messing about the one time The Head of Law Enforcements of all of Alderaan came into their office.

“Oh,” Poe laughed nervously. “How… How can we help you?”

“I’m here to see Luke Skywalkers assistant, Rey.”

* * *

She had _just_ made it.

Luke hadn't even realised he was missing his passport. He'd thanked her, and went on his way. And that was it. Well, no, that was how it should have been. But of course not, that would have been too easy. Luke being Luke took the opportunity to ditch her with more work.

Apparently an old acquaintance had contacted him, informing him he had discovered some intriguing scrolls that may be of interest to him. Since Luke was going to Dagobah he was unable to collect them, and requested Rey pick them up before retuning to the university. Apparently he'd meant to ask her to do that a few days ago, but it had slipped his mind. She wanted to refuse. She had enough work to do, and even more course work to do. Instead she sucked it up, pulled out her bus pass, and got on the bus.

It took a gruelling two and a half hours to reach The University of Jakku, and another hour more searching the campus for Professor Takku's office. Rey had almost started screaming and pulling her hair out in pure frustration when Takku's secretary informed her he wasn't in the office yet, and she had no idea when he would arrive.

"You have got to be joking me," Rey gasped. "Professor Luke Skywalker instructed me to come and collect some documents from him. Mr. Takku knew I was coming."

"Luke Skywalker? Oh! Oh yes, Mr. Takku said Skywalker's assistant would be around to pick up some things," The secretary said with a beaming smile. "Just go straight into his office. He should have left the things on his desk for you."

"Thank you," Rey smiled, a flood of relief washing through her.

_Thank stars this journey wasn't a waste of time._

She went into the office, careful to avoid the piles of books and wooden crates filled with old, dusty relics that were scattered everywhere.

 _And I thought Luke was messy,_ Rey snickered, glad she was his assistant and not Mr. Takku's.

She approached his desk, finding a large, bulky envelope titled _'Luke.'_ She stuffed it into her bag, and was about to leave when something caught her eye. It was a piece of paper with an oddly familiar design on it. It was a black hexagon with a circle inside it, jagged spikes adoring the circle. It was the symbol of a supposed underground organization called The First Order.

_So Mr. Takku's into conspiracy theories?_

"Oh, I'm sorry Sir, you're not allowed in there," The Secretary's alarmed voice rang out from behind the office's closed door.

Rey looked up, seeing the women's silhouette through the opaque door window. There was a tall figure of a man beside her, towering over her. Rey glanced back down to the First Order symbol, curiously moving some of the other paper work skewed across the desk aside to see what else there was.

 _BANG!_ _BANG! BANG!_

Rey jumped at the distinctive sound of a gun firing. Her head snapped up just in time to see the shadow of the secretary collapse to the floor, her body thudding loudly. Rey's hand flew to her mouth, holding back a horrified scream.

The man behind the door moved forward, rattling the office door handle, trying to get in.

 _The door must have locked itself after I came in,_ Rey thought.

She could hear the deafening, erratic thumping of her heart as she watched in shock as the man began to ram his shoulder into the door, trying to break it down. Rey took a staggering step backwards, a wave of fear causing her body to tremble. She had to get out of here. She had to get help. Now!

Frantically her eyes scanned the room, seeing no other doors to exit. She spun around, opening the window and peered down. It was the fifth floor, to high to jump.

 _What am I going to do?_ Rey thought desperately.

She heard the sound of wooden cracking and splintering as the man continued his assault on the door. He was going to break through any second!

 _No other chice then,_ Rey winced, carefully climbing out the window and onto the small outside window ledge. _Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look - bugger._

Looking away from the dizzying fall below her, she looked to her right. There was an open window a few meters away. Taking in a deep breath and swallowing down the quiver of fear, she pressed her back up against the window, moving slowly along till her back met a wall. Ever so slowly, she made her way towards the window. Her breath hitched when she heard the sound of the door in Mr. Takku's office crashing to the floor, the sound of furniture being destroyed as someone tore the room apart. It sounded like they were looking for something.

Her heart clenched at the thought. What if they were looking for-

Whoever was in the office looked out the window. Rey froze, her mouth falling open as she saw someone clad in black look to the left, then his head turned and he stilled when he saw her. Whoever or whatever it was, wore some strange, metal looing mask. It was terrifying, and it took everything Rey had to wrench her eyes away from it and scramble into the open window behind her.

She landed in another empty office room, immediately ran to the door, and dashed down the flight of stairs across from it three at a time. She sprinted down them as fast as she could, fumbling about in her bag looking for her phone. Her fingers felt numb, her hands trembling as dialled for the police. She spluttered the important parts of what had happened to the emergency hotline, giving the address then hanging up.

Above her she heard the sound of thundering footsteps.

That masked monster had to be coming after her!

Breathless, Rey reached the bottom of the stairs and raced through the fire exit, triggering the alarm. The loud shriek of the fire alarm roared over the chattering crowds, everyone immediately heading towards the fire assembly point up in the near by pitches. Rey pushed her way through the crowds of groaning students flocking to the pitch. She glanced over her shoulder, but she couldn't see the masked figure.

 _He might have taken his mask off to blend in,_ Rey thought as she slowed her pace, allowing herself to merge in with the students.

She pulled off her jacket, stuffing it into her back, then pulled her hair tie out, allowing her hair to fall in waves down past her shoulder. She hoped she didn't look out of place, hoping no one noticed how flushed her cheeks were or the glimmers of sweat trickling down her forehead.

 _Just blend in,_ Rey told herself.

Whoever was after her would be looking for someone running. It'd be harder to find her if she just acted like one of the hundreds of students walking calmly to the fire point.

After an hour of standing about in a pitch, the adrenalin rush having depleted, leaving her feeling sick to her stomach, the police finally addressed the students. All lessons for the university for that day were cancelled, and students and teachers were to be sent home.

Rey felt her legs tremble as she broke out of the crowds swarming to leave the university grounds. Slowly, she approached a middle aged male officer, with striking red hair. She informed him that she been the one to make the police call, and had witnessed the shooting. The man listened intently, noting down what she said.

"Don't worry, Miss. We'll take care of this," he said, putting away his notepad. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come to the police station with me for further questioning. What is your name?"

"I'm Rey."

"Pleasure to meet you, Rey," The officer smiled. He put a hand on her back, leading her over to an unmarked, black car. "I'm Officer Hux. I'll make sure we get you safely to the police station."


	2. Target

After giving a statement, Rey found herself sitting in a cold, interrogation room. It was a small, rectangular room with a table and two chairs at either end. The one she was sitting at faced what she assumed to be a two way mirror. She could barely see it, the bright ceiling light glaring down on her, and gleaming off the metallic walls. She felt like she had been waiting for hours, and the more she waited the more nervous she became. She sat with her legs crossed and arms folded, keeping her stare directed at the corner of the room and away from the mirror on the wall. She had a nagging feeling there was someone behind there, watching her intently. There probably was; police officers no doubt.

The door clicked as it opened.

“Rey, it's so nice to see you after all this time.”

Startled, Rey looked over to the door. She knew that voice.

"Ms Organa?"

"No need to be so formal," Leia said with a gentle smile. "Leia will do just fine."

Rey sprung from her seat, the two women embracing. When they pulled apart Leia rested a hand on Rey's cheek, taking a long look at the girl. Rey smiled, relived to see someone familiar after everything that had happened. Ms Organan - Leia, Rey corrected herself - was an old friend. They had once been neighbours when Rey was a little girl. The women had always been like a second mother to her.   

"My look at you, all grown up. You've became quite the beautiful young women," Leia said fondly.

"I haven't seen you in years," Rey said quietly.

"The last time we saw each other you barely reached my knees in height. Now look at you! A few more months and you'll be taller than me," Leia laughed. "I'll never forgive your father for moving away all those years ago. Ben missed you terribly."

Ben Solo. Her childhood friend. Rey remembered the young teenager with curly black hair that she had loved to mess up, and his fathomless dark eyes that always softened when they fell on her. She also remembered his infamous temper, and how easy he was to rile up. She missed him. She'd never forget the day she had been given the horrible news of his disappearance. The thought caused her heart to ache, a tear trickling down her cheek. This was the first time she'd seen his mother since she heard the news.

"I'm sorry... about what happened to him," Rey whispered, not able to hold Leia's gaze as she spoke.

Leia swallowed back a swell of emotions, nodding her head. She took Rey's hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Thank you."

A silence descended upon the pair, and Rey felt herself nervously toying with the hems of her shirt, unsure of what to say.

"I wish we could have met again under better circumstances," Leia sighed. "Take a seat, we have much to discuss."

Rey nodded and slid into her seat once more. She was grateful when another officer came in, pouring the two women a steaming hot cup of tea with some biscuits. Rey dipped the biscuit into the tea, taking a bite and savouring the taste. She hadn't realised how hungry she was, but after the day she had had it was no wonder.

"I went by your university earlier to met with you, but your friends told me I just missed you."

"Yeah, I was running an errand for Luke. He wanted me to pick up some - wait. What? You came to see me?" Rey was taken aback, a look of bewilderment taking over her face. She winced, biting her lip. “Am I… am I in trouble?”

"Not by your own doing."

Rey frowned at Leia's enigmatic words.

_What does that mean?_

Leia rummaged about in her bag, pulling out a file. She opened it up, sliding forward a photograph of an old man. Rey blinked, pulling forward the image. She knew that man. She'd been in his office only a few hours ago.

"This is... this is Professor Takku."

"Yes, he was an old friend of mine," Leia said, her voice tinged with sadness. "He was murdered early last night."

 _Murdered,_ Rey paled at the thought.

"And now, as you know, someone killed his secretary in order to gain access to his office. They ransacked it, but we don't know if they found whatever it was they were looking for."

"Why would someone kill him?" Rey asked.

Leia shrugged, letting out a sigh. "We don't know their motive yet, but we do know who did it. You're not still squeamish, are you?"

Rey shook her head. Leia nodded, taking out another photograph from the file and passing it over across the table. Rey really wished she hadn't. It was an image of the Mr. Jakku's body, lying sprawled on what looked to be a beach, sand all around him. Rey grimaced.

“Do you see the mark on his face?”

She didn't want to look at the image any longer, but she complied. She examined the close up photographs of the mans face that Leia passed over to her. There was a slash down the left side of his face, starting above his eye and stopping at the corner of his face. It looked deliberate, like someone had taken a knife or sword and cut down the poor man's face. The wound looked to have been inflicted post-mortem, very little blood having spilled from it.

“It’s a calling card,” Leia said gravely.

“Wait, you think this is a serial killers work?” Rey gasped, her startled orbs meeting Leia’s.

"Not a serial killer as such, no. The killer is someone who’s willing to assassinate anyone who gets in his way of obtaining what he wants. That’s his mark, to let _me_ and the world know what he’s capable of.”

Rey put the photograph down, running a hand through her hair. What on Aldeeren's name had she gotten herself into?

“Who is this assassin?”

“What I’m about to tell you is confidential. You are not to breath a word of it to anyone else,” Leia warned. “I didn’t want to involve you in this, but _he’s_ already set it in motion.”

_He?_

“I’m sorry I don’t understand,” Rey frowned.

"You're an archaeologist. Why?"

Rey was suprzied by the sudden shift in conversation, but pondered her answer. Why? Why did she become one and decide to study in that field? There was so many reasons. Ever since she was a youngling she had always been fascinated by history. As she grew older she became discontent with merely admiring history through the pages of old tomes, and instead wanted to take an active role in its discover, to help protect and preserve what was left before the sands of time stole it away forever.   

"Because I want to learn more about the people who came before us, to understand how societies got to where they are today. So their tales don't become lost to us, and so we can learn from their mistakes and achievements. I want to protect what's left for future generations to enjoy."

Leia smiled. "Those are the same reasons Hans gave to me when I asked him that question."

"I blame him for inspiring my love of scavenging old relics in the dirt," Rey grinned.

Whenever Rey had came over to their house when her father was visiting Leia, Han would entertain her with stories of his old adventures as a relic hunter. He was quite famous in the historical studies world. Renowned for having found many important sights, and having recovered hundreds, if not thousands, of stolen artefacts from bounty hunters and black market sellers.

"You, Han and others like you want to _protect_ history. But not everyone is so noble. Some want to profit off it."

Unfortunately Rey knew how true this was. Treasure hunters would gladly tare apart an archaeological or historical site in order to get to any pretty looking relic that looked like it would fetch a high price on the black market. They didn't care about the sites themselves, not realising the wealth of information they were destroying when they plundered sites for their artefacts. It was priceless knowledge they were ruining, pieces of the puzzle that was the past, forever broken or decimated.

"Some... like The First Order."

The image she had found in Mr. Takku's office flashed in her mind.

"The First Order? They're a myth. Nothing but a conspiracy theory."

"I'm afraid to say they are real. And they are everywhere. We've been investigating several cases that we believe to be linked to them."

Rey took a deep breath, hardly believing it. Next Leia would be trying to convince her Wookies were real too.

"Even if that is true what does this have to do with me?"

"Our sources have found out who the First Orders next target is," Leia said quietly.

_She couldn't possibly be suggesting..._

"A marks been put on your back, Rey. They're coming after you."

A laugh bubbled its way to the surface, and Rey didn't even try to stop it. She brushed some stray strands of her from her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief. "Really? Why on Aldeeren would some secret organization be after me? I'm just an archaeologist. A scavenger of history. Nothing more."

"We can only assume it's due to your knowledge in your field of study. It wouldn't be the first time The First Order has kidnapped historians and archaeologist in order to help them locate relics that they're after."

"I'm just a student. Sure, I've had papers published and even been allowed to do one or two lectures, but I'm nothing special. There are far more experienced and knowledgeable people out there," Rey said, her voice pitching as she rabbled on.

She just could not see why - if they really did exist - some powerful, underground orginzation would want her of all people. Not when there were more useful people out there that they could try and use.  

"But not... on Jedi lore," Leia pointed out. "There's only a pocket full of people who have intricate knowledge and understanding on that subject. We have to assume that that's why they're after you."

Something told Rey there was something else, another reason that Leia felt she was a target. Whatever it was, Leia didn't seem to want to share. Rey had been about to ask when another agent walked into the room, gesturing for Leia to come hither outside. Leia left, assuring Rey she would be back in a moment.

Rey let out a sigh, dropping her head onto the cold table. Oh how she wished she hadn't gotten out of bed this morning, how different would the day have panned out if she had? She just wanted to go home.

After a few minutes Leia returned with news that only made the day _so_ much more better.

Rey was being put under protective watch of the Aldeeren Law Enforcement for an un-specified period of time, until they were assured her safety. It had been arranged for her to be collected at her house tomorrow where she would be escorted to a safe house. Leia had insisted on dropping her off home, assuring her that there were agents keeping watch over the house to ensure her safety.

Rey didn't feel safe. She felt caged. And in her own apartment no less!

As soon as she was in the door she let out a growl of frustration, sliding down to the floor, her head in her hands. She tugged at her hair, fighting back the angry tears stinging in her eyes.

Apart of her seethed at Luke, wanting to blame him for having sent her on this stupid errand. But after sitting stewing over it, she realised that it wasn't his fault. No, apparently she was already a target long before she had ever went to Mr. Takku's office. She didn't know who to blame, she just knew she wanted to blame _someone_ , to have someone to be furious at for pulling the rug out from under her and turning her life upside down! She supposed the First Order were the ones to blame. But they still felt unreal, like some fictional villain, untouchable and faceless.

Rey snarled, picking herself up and going into her spare bedroom that she had been using as an exercise room. She began pounding her punching bag, releasing all the pent up emotions he had been bottling up all day. She was upset, angry, worried, confused and afraid.

She didn't know what was going to happen now.

What would happen with her work? How was she going to be able to pay her bills for her apartment if she wasn't able to carry out her role as Luke's assistant? Would he get a temporary new assistant? How would he even react to all this? Would he possibly be a target? Seeing as he was the one who taught her practically everything she knew on Jedi lore. He was the real expert, not she. And yet she was the one who The First Order were coming after.

What about her studies? Would she be forced to leave the course? Would she be able to return to it was this whole ridiculous scenario was done with?

Rey punched the punching bag harder with every worrying question.

She didn't even know how long this was going to gone on for. They couldn't keep her locked up in some safe house forever. She had a life she had to live! She couldn't hide forever, nor did she want to.

Finally Rey relented her attack on the poor punching bag, opting to start the daunting task of packing. She pulled out an old luggage case, stuffing it with clothes, shoes, a few books, and some other bits and bobs. Only essentials.

A feeling of helplessness overcame her as she put each item in the case; packing made the realisation sink in. This was all real. This was happening. It wasn't a dream. She was really being put under protection and being taken away from her life, trapped in some safe house under watch and guard.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

* * *

In the morning Hux picked her up in a black rover.

She thanked him but declined his offer to assist her getting her luggage in the car. He did, however, insist on opening the back door for her. Once she was inside she buckled herself in, looking longingly at her apartment on the third floor as the car pulled out and began driving away. She wondered how long it would be until she saw it again.

She let out a sigh as it disappeared from sight, resting her head back. She splayed her hand over the seat, flinching when it came into contact with something. Glancing down, she was surprised at what she found. It was a rose. A thornless red rose with a small piece of parchment attached to it. On it were two initials _'KR'_.

The image of the rose she had received yesterday morning flickered in her mind, a feeling of dread settling over her.

Rey jumped at the sound of the car doors locking.

"Hux, why is there a rose back here?"

Hux ignored her, even after she asked him several more times. Rey frowned at the agents sudden shift in demeanour.

They drove in silence for a nearly an hour, and Rey watched sadly as the city vanished from view, replaced with endless green fields and farm lands. She had started to nod off when hux pulled the car into the side of the disserted road, startling her awake as he exited the car and yanked open her door.

"Is everything alri- Hey!"

Rey didn't get a chance to react as Hux shoved a vile smelling cloth over her face, smothering her with it. Her eyes felt heavy, and her head spun. Within seconds Rey's world went black.

* * *

When Rey woke up she found herself starring at wooden rafter beams. She groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head as she tried to still the spinning room.

What had happened? Hadn't she been in a car? Had she fallen asleep? Rey tried to focus, the blurry memories slowly coming back to her. Hux had... he'd... he'd drugged her! Why? Panic surged through her, blood rushing to her ears. What if... what is he wasn't really an agent?

_I'm afraid to say they are real. And they are everywhere._

Leia's words came back to her, Rey's heart clenching in fear.

_Oh no... The First Order._

Rey swung her legs over the edge of the couch she was sitting on.

"I wouldn't get up if I were you."

Rey jumped to her feet at the sound of the deep, disorted voice across from her. Instantly she regretted it, her legs collapsing like jelly. Before she could crash to the floor, strong arms caught her, hoisting her into the air. Rey winced as the sudden movements sent her vision wavering. She closed her eyes, breathing in deeply. When she opened them again, she was able to focus her sight.

She turned to see who had caught her.

She couldn't hold back the scream at the sight of the masked figure.

"Hello again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed xx Let me know what you think :D xx


End file.
